Distress and Satisfaction in Women Who Perceive that Their Male Partners Use Pornography: The Roles of Attitude, Religious Commitment and Conservative Religiosity

Qualitative studies suggest that women's attitudes and religiosity have an important role in their experience of their male partners' pornography use, but these factors have not been adequately studied. The present study examined the contributions of perceived frequency of male partners�...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of sex research 2024, Vol.61 (1), p.21-36
Main Authors: Ruffing, Elizabeth G., Brody, Leslie R., Sandage, Steven J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude
Attitudes
Clinical research
Cohabitation
COVID-19
Erotica
Female
Humans
Male
Males
Moderation
Personal Satisfaction
Pornography
Pornography & obscenity
Psychological distress
Religion
Religiosity
Religious commitment
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners
Sexual satisfaction
Socioeconomic status
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Summary:Qualitative studies suggest that women's attitudes and religiosity have an important role in their experience of their male partners' pornography use, but these factors have not been adequately studied. The present study examined the contributions of perceived frequency of male partners' solitary pornography use (PFREQ), women's attitudes toward their partners' pornography use, conservative religiosity, and religious commitment to women's pornography-related distress, relationship satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction in women who reported they were married to or cohabitating with men who had used pornography in the prior 3 months (median frequency = 1-2 times/week). Participants were online research panel participants (n = 625), age mean = 44[SD = 13], diverse SES, 86% White. Partial correlations and multiple regressions, controlling for demographic variables and COVID-19-related stress, indicated that higher PFREQ and negative attitudes toward pornography were significantly associated with women's higher pornography-related distress, lower relationship satisfaction, and lower sexual satisfaction. Moderation analyses found that negative attitude amplified the negative association between PFREQ and relationship satisfaction, and conservative religiosity amplified the positive association between PFREQ and pornography-related distress. Neither attitude nor religious factors moderated the negative association between PFREQ and sexual satisfaction. Findings suggest that attitude, religious factors, and PFREQ are each important to consider in research and clinical contexts.
ISSN:0022-4499
1559-8519
DOI:10.1080/00224499.2022.2137097